Down
by lucy quinn fabray
Summary: Ron and Hermione fluff during HBP. They share a rare moment in angst-filled times. It's a chance to mend their friendship... one-shot. A 'Missing Moment'.


_**Author's Note:**_

_Harry Potter _belongs to J.K. Rowling, of course!_**  
**_

Just a couple notes.

Wattlebird = password in the _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ Gamecube game.

This is loosely based on Jay Sean's song, Down.

Enjoy!

Loligo7687

_**Author's Note**_ (5/14/11):

Edited for grammar and spelling. No major changes.

(: ~Lucy

_**Author's Note**_ (8/30/12):

Story Cover added and was edited in Photoshop. Lyrics taken out.

~Lucy

* * *

Down, a Ron and Hermione one-shot  
By: Loligo7687

Her Prefect duties did not end just because of the late hour, it ended when she was completely sure she had gone through everything she was supposed to do. Hermione Granger had been alone lately in her duties, as her row with Ron was destroying any dignity she had left to try to talk to him. Merlin knew if he was doing his share, but she'd pick up the slack for him. As much as she felt angry toward him, she would never purposely get him in trouble. After all, that was the last thing she needed.

The Common Room was nearly always empty at this hour. Few students would have still been studying or writing near the cozy fire at the midnight hour. However, on one of the couches, Hermione spotted the unmistakable trait of red hair against the armrest. Ron Weasley was sleeping comfortably on the couch, which was strange indeed. He must have been too tired to have gone up to his bed, but what would cause him to stay here? Was he waiting for someone? Had he been waiting for Lavender? Or even her?

As strange as it was, Hermione knew she had to wake him up. Even if he grumbled at her because she did wake him up, it was still a nice gesture to try and work on their friendship. Deep down, she knew she wanted to keep her longstanding friendship with him. Throwing away nearly six years would be simply devastating. Walking quietly over to Ron, she started to reach her hand out to shake his shoulder gently. However, his murmur caused her to freeze instantly.

"Her-my-oh-knee," he had murmured, unmistakably. Slightly startled, Hermione had no idea what would possess him to say her name. Wasn't it supposed to be Lavender? It was nice, all the same. It gave her a sense of triumph over the silly Lavender Brown. Reaching again for his shoulder, she shook it as gently as she could.

"Ron," she said, pursing her lips automatically when he didn't wake up. "Ron!"

His eyes opened immediately and he was slightly confused and embarrassed at first. Once he realized that he had fallen asleep in the Common Room, Ron yawned and grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks, Hermione. What time is it?" he asked.

"Just past midnight, actually. You should probably head off to bed now," she replied.

"Probably. I was actually waiting for you, but I fell asleep as you very well know. Now that you're here, I just wanted to say thank you for correcting my essays the other day. I don't think I properly thanked you," Ron said, sitting up. "Anyway, g'night!"

As Ron walked away, Hermione sat in a silent stupor. Ron had been nice to her, for once. He even went as far as thanking her for correcting his essays. Lately he had been so bogged down by his classes, Quidditch, and Prefect duties that Hermione had felt bad enough to help him out, despite her troubled feelings. Now she was feeling all jumbled up inside. She was supposed to be mad at him, but her anger was quickly melting.

"Goodnight, Ron," she whispered, although Ron was far from sight. Content for now, Hermione discovered that a smile had formed on her pursed lips. Perhaps this was the first step toward repairing their broken friendship and neither one of them realized of it. Probably since the next day yielded the same results as before; Hermione and Ron went without a word to each other and Ron was somewhere with Lavender snogging…

That was three months ago.

In three months, a lot could change. Ron had been poisoned with the mead in Slughorn's office, which had almost turned fatal if not for Harry's quick thinking. That event was the point where the two had realized that their constant fighting was too costly to their friendship. They quickly pushed aside their differences and were on the way to repairing that friendship. Lavender had broken up with Ron too, since she had spotted Ron and Hermione (and Harry unbeknownst to her) together. Which, to say the least, was relieving for both. Hermione was glad that she didn't have to argue with Ron, but she wasn't ready to let him completely off the hook. Ron was also glad that he had gotten rid of Lavender at last, but Hermione wasn't warmed up to him yet. Sure, he expected that. So, if he was going to get his best friend back, the bushy-haired bookworm, he'd have to show her that he valued her friendship. How was he going to go about it? It wasn't so easy to fix his wrongs. But Ron could in small ways, even as big as a git as he was. Hermione was in for some surprise, whether welcomed or not. After all, it wasn't often that Ron decided to do something like this.

Late at night, as Ron had planned, they had finished their Prefect duties together. Hermione still needed to complete her Arithmancy homework, which seemed like a bit of numbers and words jumbled together to make a finished solution. Ron never knew why or how it could be her favorite subject, but boy, did she excel at it. Ten o'clock turned into eleven o'clock and he was growing worried. She hadn't called for him yet and it was getting later than he wanted. Taking the initiative, Ron traveled down the staircase to the Common Room. But not before he had snatched the Invisibility Cloak from Harry's trunk…

Hermione was the only one left in the Common Room. Hunched over with her bushy, brown hair spilling into her eyes, the fire illuminated the words on her parchment. She seemed very much focused on her work, but also very frustrated at the same time. For once, she looked like she could deserve a break for all her hard work. That was Ron's mission: to break her from her studying habit for one night in favor of mending their friendship. Approaching her quietly, Ron took a seat on the couch adjacent to her.

"Hermione, are you almost done?" he asked, trying to peer at her work nonchalantly.

"What do _you_ think, Ron?" she replied irritably, without looking up. She tended to become cranky as the hour waned, but all this studying wasn't good for her either. Hermione needed to breathe the fresh air once and awhile.

"Can't you come back to this? When's it due?"

"Three days from now."

"Well, okay. It's not due tomorrow. Why don't we go and forget about this for the moment?"

Hermione looked up at this remark, pushing the fallen hair out of her face. "What are you suggesting then, so late at night?" she asked.

"I have to show you something, actually," Ron grinned, holding up the cloak. Hermione shook her head.

"I have to do this though, Ron."

"It's just this one time. There's also life outside of studying, you know."

"Alright, I'll humor you. Where are you taking me?"

"C'mon, you'll see."

The pair absconded out of the portrait hole in an orderly fashion and Ron draped the cloak over them immediately once they had stepped out of safe territory. Hermione gave a casual sigh as Ron led her away from the Gryffindor dormitories to the Astronomy Tower. Normally, this was out of bounds for any student. But with the cloak, they could be privy to the rule.

"We're not supposed to be here," Hermione hissed, giving Ron a disapproving look. He laughed softly in response.

"It's worth it, Hermione, trust me," he replied, guiding her along the steps. "And when has that ever stopped us in the past?"

Defeated, Hermione went along with Ron to the very top, where Astronomy class would take place. A parapet and turret surrounded the tower, while numerous telescopes lined the floor. Now, Hermione was growing curious. Ron, showing a lack of interest in Astronomy or studying in general, was not generally willing to come here on his own. Something was up and she had to figure it out.

Slipping off the cloak, Ron bundled it up under his arm. Hermione, glancing around at the perfect view, looked at him expectantly.

"I don't come up here often enough," he admitted, with a sheepish grin.

"You've been up here more than once?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, when the Astronomy classes aren't in session. Luckily, they've been doing classroom studies for the past week. Otherwise, they'd be up here studying for the O.W.L.S. that are coming soon."

"Well, okay. What is it that you do up here?"

"Mostly to think. It's much quieter than the Common Room, wouldn't you agree? Or sometimes, I use the telescopes to find some of the stars. It's relaxing to say the least."

"Oh, I never knew that."

"You never asked."

A true grin appeared at once and Hermione couldn't help but to return a small smile. This affable side of Ron was as rare as it came, but she would enjoy it for however long it stayed. It was the silly, swearing, always hungry, and dirty-nosed boy she liked best and she'd prefer it that way any day.

"Well, what was it that you wanted to show me?" Hermione asked, peering at the stars momentarily.

"Alright, well, a couple nights ago, I spotted a constellation I always couldn't find. It's bloody brilliant, if you ask me," Ron replied, motioning toward one of the telescopes.

Hermione followed behind Ron, since he had to adjust the telescope accordingly. As soon as he was done and a content smile crossed his features, he looked back at Hermione.

"Here we go," he said, and stepped away so she could see. Hesitantly, she closed one eye to peer into the viewfinder. Instantly, she recognized it. It was mapped on their star charts and heavily etched into her mental one.

"Canis Major," she breathed, looking amazed. Stars always took her breath away, for they were a natural beauty of their own.

"With Sirius, the Dog Star," he added, causing her to crack a smile. He was always amazing her as well.

"Wow, this is beautiful, Ron," Hermione said, as she stepped away from the telescope.

"Yeah, but that's not the best part. Any second now, I'd imagine, we'll see it," Ron replied, grinning.

Ron and Hermione stood together in silence as they waited for Ron's surprise. However, the cool spring night was taking its toll on Hermione. Ron had forgotten to warn her to take a jacket, so she crossed her arms to help conserve her body heat. Noticing this, Ron shrugged off his jacket.

"Shoot, sorry Hermione. I forgot to tell you to take a jacket. Here, take mine," he said, offering his jacket to her. Hermione shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. It's okay," she replied, unconvincingly.

"Take it, Hermione," he insisted, and she promptly gave up. Placing her arms in the sleeves, she crossed her arms again to hold the jacket closed. She could still feel the warmth in the jacket and she thanked him accordingly.

Five minutes went by without anything, but then Ron jumped in surprise. "Look, Hermione, there it is!" he exclaimed, pointing to the night sky.

Hermione followed his finger to the sky, which was quickly filling with long white streaks. They littered the midnight sky with the same trails of white, which disappeared after a few seconds. However, another streak would replace the one that disappeared. The cycle continued and it literally caused tears to spring to Hermione's eyes. Ron had brought her to the top of the Astronomy Tower to view a meteor shower.

"I looked it up, I'm afraid. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known to come up here tonight," Ron said, shrugging.

"Of course. Not even I would study the dates of meteor showers," Hermione said, smiling. Ron returned one as well and they both resumed gazing at the beautiful show of nature and the universe.

"What is it, again?" Ron asked.

"A meteor shower results from pieces of a comet that break off and then, consequently, those pieces fall through the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds. They aren't big enough to make it through, so when the streaks disappear, that means that the meteors have burned up. Which is good for us, actually," Hermione replied, very astutely.

"Bloody brilliant, as usual."

"Why, thank you, Ron."

A half hour passed and the meteor shower began to slow down. Less and less fell and finally the sky was still again. Canis Major smiled down on them still, but Hermione was growing tired. Yawning, she tugged on Ron's sleeve.

"Ready?" he asked, and she nodded in reply. Draping the cloak over both of them once again, they made their silent trip back to the portrait hole. Unearthing the cloak as the approached the Fat Lady, Hermione recited the one word password.

"Wattlebird," she said, and the portrait swung open wide. Making the dangerous journey without Filch knowing was a cause of celebration alone, but then again, they had snuck out with Harry plenty of times. They knew the ropes. Ron folded the cloak as best he could, but Hermione had to step in to prevent it from gaining wrinkles.

"It's invisible, Hermione. Nobody can tell," Ron said, frowning.

"I can tell. That was a horrid job of folding it," Hermione replied, shaking her head.

"D'you think that Harry will care? No!" he replied.

"You didn't tell Harry?"

"No. He was already asleep."

"Then, I suppose it doesn't matter."

Hermione tossed the cloak back, unraveling the neat folding job she had done. Ron tossed her a sheepish grin in return, but Hermione laughed in spite of herself instead. Yawning once again, she was ready to bid her best friend goodnight.

"Goodnight, Ron," she said softly, debating whether or not to hug him. Ron also had the same thought about hugging Hermione, but they came to the same conclusion. Hermione hugged Ron around his torso, since he had grown so tall during the last year. Her head was barely level with his shoulder as it was.

"G'night," he said, just as softly. Giving him a sleepy smile, Hermione turned and headed up to the girls' dormitories. Ron, in turn, headed up to his four poster bed. Slipping the cloak back into Harry's trunk, Ron changed and laid down to rest. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next morning, Ron had come down to breakfast late, which was highly unusual. Harry hadn't gone without mentioning it, but Hermione let it be.

"How come you're late?" asked Harry.

"I overslept, 'Arry," Ron replied, immediately reaching for some bacon.

"Oh. That's nice."

"Mhm."

Ron's mouth was filled with bacon at this point, so Harry let the issue be. Thankfully, he hadn't discovered that the cloak had been used without his permission. It was better that way.

"What's on the agenda?" asked Ron, in between bites.

"Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts today," Harry grimaced. "Luckily, the book is often helpful…"

"Oh, give that book a rest!" Hermione interrupted, without looking up from her newspaper.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" asked Ron, genuinely.

She looked up. "Never better," she replied, smiling.


End file.
